


Part of Me

by OpalliteGlass



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Long, M/M, Sad, Slow Boil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 21:27:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10750152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalliteGlass/pseuds/OpalliteGlass
Summary: Rakan is reeling from the death of his lover, Xayah. In his search to find meaning, he finds Ezreal.





	Part of Me

"I need to forget, _Ighilya_." Rakan shuddered, his feathers shifting slightly from the motion. He knelt in front of the Gardener, his head hung low and thick tears dropping to the mossy ground. "I can't live like this anymore..." The Gardener looked down on him, her woolen shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. "The garden will never refuse a gift given freely, _Iminho_." She said, crouching down to Rakan's crumpled height. Rakan flinched at the word she used. Little one. No one had called him that in years. "But many children have come here seeking the same, and many of them do not find happiness."

  
Rakan clenched his teeth. "Every moment I'm without her, I feel my soul being ripped apart. She knew it was dangerous... she knew the risks... and she did it anyway." He sobbed quietly, more tears touching the earth. "I can't bear it anymore." He looked up at the frail old woman. She batted a few vines away from her head as they slowly trailed up her arms, as if eager to touch and feel.  "Come, child. Walk with me." She offered her hand to the defeated man, who took it slowly. They both rose, with the woman guiding him through a clearing in the thick brush. "This is not a choice to make lightly. The garden is ravenous. It will not relinquish anything that it takes."

Rakan drew in a shaking breath, on the verge of tears once more. "Can you give me what I seek, _Ighilya_? Can you make me forget?" He used the Vastayan word for 'great grandmother'. The old woman nodded, but kept guiding Rakan to a small clearing that featured a simple stone slab, with a very ornate tree dangling its branches overhead. The branches were ripe with white, plump fruit that hung tantalizingly from the bark.

"I can give you that, _Iminho_. The garden is hungry for your pain." She sat down on one side of the slab before gesturing to Rakan to sit at the other side. "But first, sit. You look thin." She reached up, plucking a fruit from a branch. It's surface was taut and firm, making a light squeaking noise as the woman peeled the rind from it, revealing the pale, juicy flesh. "Cloudfruit. Such a delicacy. Would you like a piece?" She offered a slice of the fruit to Rakan, who took it wordlessly. The woman chuckled quietly.   
"The last child who visited me did not partake. I'm glad that you do." She said, watching Rakan slowly chew on the fruit. He was still sad, but he never turned down food. The tart taste of the fruit distracted him from the pain he was feeling.

" _Ighilya_ , please. I need to forget her. I... I can't..." His face screwed up, and the tears began flowing again.  The woman raised an eyebrow. "You cry more than the others did." She said dryly.

"I loved her!" Rakan shouted, his volume increasing suddenly. All of the plants in the clearing withdrew, shocked by the noise. The squawking of birds could be heard in the distant as they fled the scene as well. The woman, however, did not flinch. "Calm down, _Iminho_. I will give you what you seek." She reached behind her, softly guiding a vine up and out of the brush. A beautiful snow-white lily tipped the end of the vine, which hovered of it's own power of the slab. "If you truly want to forget her, think of her. Think of everything she meant to you, then inhale the lily's scent." She prodded the flower, which obediently floated up to Rakan's face. He could smell the aroma of the lily already. It was a calming scent. It made Rakan feel much better, as if Xayah had never existed.

"The lily will take all of it. Everything you give, the garden will take." The woman said. "You will not be able to take it back." Rakan gripped the base of the vine, steeling himself. "I don't care." He said. "She wouldn't have wanted this. Wanted me to feel this pain..." The woman beckoned to the flower. "Then breathe, _Iminho_. I will not stop you." Rakan leaned into the flower, imagining Xayah. Her laugh, her smile...

Then he inhaled.

A blur of light. Loud music. A drunken bar fight happening in the background. Rakan stood up slowly, feeling a pair of hands on his shoulders. "Get up, Rakan! We've got more work to do!" Xayah yelled playfully, flicking a wrist and sending a razor sharp feather into the mob. "I can't leave ya behind!"

Another flash. This time, the roar of water. It was dark. The moon was overhead, shining onto the waterfall. Xayah was leaning on his shoulder. "I love you..." She whispered quietly. "I love you, too..." Rakan replied, just as quiet.

Once more, a flash. A gunshot rang out across the valley. She fell to ground, her light and radiance gone in an instant. They had overstepped. She was dead before he even had a chance to say goodbye.

Rakan breathed, the world melting around him. He scrambled up as the he was jolted from his reverie. The woman was staring at him, but they were no longer at the table. Instead, Rakan was at the glen that served as the entrance to the garden.

" _Ighilya_..." Rakan mumbled, confused. "What... what happened?" "You held on to her, _Iminho_. You are not ready to forget. The garden took some of her away from you, but you must keep what you have." She turned, walking back into her otherwordly plants. "I can help you no more. Be safe, _Iminho_." Then she disappeared, melting into the shadows of her garden.

 


End file.
